Category Archives: Bookstore

WHAT IS MISSING IN MANY CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORES?

Below are the categories one Christian bookstore lists for the books they carry. Having been in many Christian bookstores, the example below is not unique. There are some important categories that are missing.

I imagine that they have put history, theology, and apologetics under “academics,” but see what they are saying by doing so? These areas of study are viewed as a hobby of sorts for the more cerebral Christian. They are no longer viewed as areas that all Christians must study.

  • Christian Living
  • Children’s Books
  • Family & Relationships
  • Men’s Books
  • Church
  • Devotionals
  • Women’s Books
  • Charismatic
  • Spirituality
  • Personal Growth
  • Biographies & Autobiography
  • Arts & Photography
  • Poetry
  • Teen & Young Adult
  • Gift Books
  • Academics
  • Business & Investing
  • Cooking

REAL THINGS MATTER!

I’ve been posing a dare to some friends. I’m daring them to read the introduction to this book and seeing if they can stop. Like one potato chip (which is hardly digital!) they will find themselves devouring the rest of the bag, er book.

The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter is a terrific book. There is hard evidence in this book that digital is not the only game in town, but studies and statistics are augmented by engaging stories.  Stories of people making things that we thought went the way of the Dodo bird add to the book’s allure, poignancy, and persuasiveness.

Vinyl records and used bookstores are back!  They, of course, never totally went away, but their demise had an inevitability that was widely held.

So I dare you as well: Grab a copy (you will have to go to a bookstore to do this!) and read the introduction.   I think you will find yourself wanting much more.

By the way, my “Moore’s Law of Reading” held true with this book.  “Moore’s Law of Reading” takes the total number of pages of a book (242 with this book) and divides by two, so 121.  If my marginal notes exceeds half of the pages then it was a worthwhile read.  In this case, I made 166 marginal notes of various kinds, so it definitely was a great read.

THE MOOSE IS LOOSE!

I have two sisters and one brother.  They all live in Phoenix. 
Lisa, whom you see in the picture above, ministers along with her husband, John.  John will be getting ordained soon as an Episcopal minister.  We are looking forward to being in Phoenix for the grand occasion!  God has done wonderful things in both their lives.
Both my sisters are slim, so you can see that “Moose” is a nice hyperbolic nickname for Lisa.
Lisa has a wonderful Amazon store with great deals and a very high ranking.  Take a look.  You just might find the book you were looking for:

BOOKS(TORE): GOING THE WAY OF THE DODO BIRD?

“We still don’t know the long-term effects of reading e-books vs. traditional hard copy books. Some studies show that people read slower on dedicated e-readers, and those who use tablets or computers or iPhones have a different reading experience, being constantly distracted by text messages, emails, Facebook, and other interruptions. Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains explores the changes in brain function that may result. Hyperlinked, multi-tasking readers do not have the same “deep reading” experience, and are less likely to store what they read in long-term memory.

In short, we face a revolution in reading not unlike the one Gutenberg introduced almost 700 years ago. Nowadays authors are coached on “building your brand” more than on improving their writing. Publishers care more about website stats and Twitter followers than the quality of an author’s work.

Frankly, I’m glad I’m as old as I am. It’s been fun living through publishing’s golden age. I’ll happily stick with the “deep reading” experience. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than browsing through the books in my office. They’re my friends—marked up, dog-eared, highlighted, a kind of spiritual and intellectual journal—in a way that my Kindle reader will never be.”

Read the rest here: http://www.booksandculture.com/articles/webexclusives/2014/july/farewell-to-golden-age.html?paging=off

PRETTY GOOD FOR A BUCK!

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On Jan. 24 of this year, I posted about my terrific find at a local bookstore here in Austin.  Just before Christmas I was browsing the shelves of our local Half Price bookstore.  The first shelves I typically go to are the dollar discount ones.  My eyes landed on a biography of H.L. Mencken.  I knew some about the famous journalist, but thought the biography looked quite good.  And it was tough to turn down a beautiful hardback for $1.00.

I was thumbing through the biography and out falls two letters from Mencken.  I couldn’t believe it.  A collectible store in Baltimore (Mencken’s home town) told me they were worth $400 and that they would pay me $200 for them. 

 

USED BOOKSTORES AND THEIR TREASURES

I have found several treasures rummaging through old bookstores, but none greater than my most recent find.  

I spied out an old biography on H.L. Mencken for $1.00.  That alone was a find, but what was contained inside much better.  As I thumbed through to make sure it was a clean copy, I found to my utter astonishment that there were two personal letters from Mencken on his personal stationary.  And those two letters were just valued at $250 and $150 by a rare book dealer.  You can’t have that experience at your local Barnes and Noble!